The Ethereum (ETH) price is under pressure on Thursday, having now fallen 3.3% on the back from above $3,040 to current levels around $2,930, amid high daily trading volumes of $13.5 billion, as per Yahoo Finance data.

Ether has now all but erased Wednesday’s post US CPI gains, weighed as bearish sentiments creep back into the market.

Following a recent death cross in the ETH/BTC pair, the Ether price is just hit new three-year lows.

In a Wednesday note, Coinbase research analyst David Han gave a few reasons for ETH’s underperformance.

“The approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in the US has reinforced bitcoin’s store-of-value narrative and its status as a macro asset”.

“On the other hand, open questions about ETH’s fundamental positioning within the crypto sector remain,” he continued.

The SEC is expected to reject applications for multiple spot Ethereum ETFs in the US later this month.

Many think this is because the SEC is still considering whether Ethereum might be considered a security.

I’m aware this is widely considered a possibility, but this is your official notice that the SEC is considering the security question for ETH in this upcoming spot ETF order. Note that this question was never (afaict) asked regarding a spot/futures BTC ETF product. pic.twitter.com/TwhqmTnJfC

— Scott Johnsson (@SGJohnsson) May 14, 2024

Moreover, “competing layer-1s like Solana detract from Ethereum’s positioning as the ‘go-to’ network for decentralized app (dApp) deployment,” Han said.

Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade earlier this year has also lowered the crypto’s burn rate via a substantial drop in fees.

That’s probably going to be a long-term positive for Ethereum’s adoption, as high fees discourage network use.

But some have framed the lower burn rate as bearish for ETH.

It’s no surprise then that Citron Research founder Andrew Left just told Benzinga that he shorted Ether.

Ether will be labeled as a security and won’t get the same stamp of approval as Bitcoin, he posited.

ETH/BTC remains locked within a multi-year downtrend. Whales may be reluctant to accumulate when the much safer, more accepted Bitcoin is looking so strong.

ETH/BTC remains locked within a multi-year downtrend. Source: TradingView

Ethereum Price Prediction – Where Next for the ETH Price?

The Ethereum price’s latest drop suggests that the bears remain very much in control of this market in the short term.

Firstly, ETH continues to find strong resistance at its major short-term moving averages. The 21DMA was the major hurdle it was unable to surpass this week.

The Ethereum price continues to find strong resistance at its major short-term moving averages. Source: TradingViewEther

Secondly, the Ethereum price remains locked in a medium-term downwards trend channel from the earlier yearly highs.

the Ethereum price remains locked in a medium-term downwards trend channel from the earlier yearly highs. Source: TradingView

Thirdly, Ether appears to be forming a descending triangle structure, with the price floor currently around $2,850.

Ether appears to be forming a descending triangle structure, with the price floor currently around $2,850. Source: TradingViewl fr

Descending triangles typically form ahead of bearish breakouts.

Traders also need to keep an eye on the uptrend that has been in play since October.

The Ethereum price appears pointed towards a drop below recent low. The first downside target would be the early 2024 highs near $2,700.

The next major support zone would be around $2,150. Whales would likely jump back into the market to accumulate if ETH retested this zone.

Yes, things aren’t looking good for ETH relative to BTC. But we are still in the midst of a crypto bull market.

And at $2,150, Ether would be at a near 50% discount from its earlier yearly high price.

Ethereum Alternative to Consider

Ethereum’s decline comes at a time when meme coin season might be about to pick up once again.

Without question, meme stock season has returned since GameStop icon Roaring Kitty returned to social media earlier this week.

Investors looking for better upside prospects than those offered by ETH might want to position themselves in the meme coin market.

Established meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are relatively “safe” bets that could yield 5x returns.

For investors looking for 50-100x gains, they need to find newer meme coins.

One new meme coin project that analysts at Cryptonews like a lot is Wiener AI (WAI).

The fun new sausage dog-themed coin offers a suite of AI-powered trading tools.

WienerAI is more than a trading bot

It’s your AI trading companion!

More details coming SOON! pic.twitter.com/HG5C0tE6Rk

— WienerAI (@WienerDogAI) May 14, 2024

Investors have already ploughed nearly $2 million into the WAI presale.

Interested investors better move quickly. When the presale hits $2.15 million, the WAI price will rise.

Presale investors are also currently earnings huge staking yields of 499%, though this will fall as the presale progresses.

Buy WAI Here

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